May an employer put a cap on a job?

Could you be falling further behind every year? Typical raises
vary with the economy, but on average have been about 4.1
percent per year. If you regularly get less than that, you
could be falling behind in your earning power.

Q. I work in a hospital in Florida as a computer
operator. Before this I was a computer operator at another
company for almost 20 years. I am paid a salary of $19,406,
well below the Computer Operator I salary quoted in the
Salary Wizard, $25,310. I really like the company, the job,
and the people I work with.

The hospital management does not seem to care about what they
pay their staff. They are giving only 3 percent raises, and I
don't think they'd try to stop you from leaving if you asked
for more. I am a good worker, I work most of the overtime
they ask of me, and I am not out sick very much.

A. Your employer may have some catching up to do.

If your employer is paying 3 percent raises in a down market,
it's nothing out of the ordinary. But if a 3 percent merit
increase is typical for your employer, you've been falling
behind every year. Salaries move at different rates every
year, but typically by about 4.1 percent. Inflation is low,
but a 3 percent increase just barely keeps pace with the
changing cost of living.

It seems to me that no one has recently adjusted your salary
to reflect a competitive market rate. Jobs have a fair value
on the market, just like a car has a Blue Book value. Your
employer is paying less than the market rate for your job.

There are several reasons why an employer might pay less than
market. First, the employer may not know the market rate.
That's unlikely, since most employers use salary surveys to
price their jobs, but it's possible. A second explanation is
that the employer's pay philosophy may be to economize on
labor. The organization may have severe budget restraints, or
be in financial trouble. The organization may keep raises
down if it is hoping to encourage voluntary terminations.
Sometimes the reason an employee is paid below market is that
he or she is a poor performer.

For whatever reason, you are being paid below market. The
good news is, when the HR department makes a market
adjustment to a job, it doesn't usually come out of the same
budget as the annual merit increases. You might be able to
negotiate for more without upsetting the internal pay
structure.

If you'd like to try, approach your human resources
department and ask to see their numbers on what your job
should pay, and if their number is comparable to the figure
in the Salary Wizard, ask why you're being paid less. If
their number is lower, make sure to ask what year the salary
was benchmarked.

If your employer simply won't pay more, you may have to
decide which is worth more to you: the pleasant working
conditions you described, or the potential to earn what your
job is worth in another organization.

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